IPL 2023 Predictions: Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The match will be the second home game of the season for GT, who are the defending champions.

KKR will enter the match with confidence, having won their previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

GT has won their last two games at the Motera and is a more formidable side than their opponents.

KKR’s away form is still a concern as they lost to Punjab Kings in a rain-marred affair in their opening match of the season.

Injury Update:

GT has replaced injured Kane Williamson with Dasun Shanaka, a batting all-rounder, and has no further injury concerns reported before the match.

KKR has no fresh injury updates since Jason Roy replaced Shreyas Iyer in the KKR squad.

Key Players:

GT’s Sai Sudharsan has been the talk of the town after his match-winning 62* against DC and scored a 17-ball 22 in the first game too.

Vijay Shankar has been in good form too with two influential knocks of 27 and 29.

Star opener Shubman Gill flopped in the last game but has been in the form of his life and scored a half-century in his last game here.

David Miller arrived from South Africa and played a crucial 16-ball 31 while Rahul Tewatia provides further firepower down the order.

However, Hardik Pandya’s batting form has been questionable with two bad knocks. He is yet to pick a wicket this IPL as well.

GT’s bowling has little to worry about.

The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, and Alzarri Joseph have made them a formidable bowling unit.

Both Khan and Shami have picked five wickets each in two games while left-handed express pacer Joseph is right behind with four wickets.

The team’s third pacer Joshua Little is yet to make an impact with the ball.

KKR’s likes of Nitish Rana, Mandeep Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer have not made the desired contribution on top of the order yet.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has shown consistency with knocks of 22 and 57 in the last two innings, but the Afghan ‘keeper-batter is not known to be someone who scores runs in bulk.

Andre Russell scored 35 in the first game but was out for a first-ball duck, and Rinku Singh showed his growth with a responsible 46-run knock while Shardul Thakur went berserk during his 29-ball 68 in the last game.

His bowling is yet to show the same spark as he has just picked a wicket in two games, but he is expected to get some help from the Ahmedabad turf.

KKR also showed their spin strength in the last game as Varun Chakravarthy (3 wickets), Sunil Narine (2), and debutant Suyas Sharma (3 wickets) shone.

However, whether they will be as effective on a Motera surface remains in question, with Motera helping pace at the moment.

That makes the role of pacers Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee crucial, but the duo is yet to step up this year.

Express pacer Lockie Ferguson may get a look in against GT and could be an ideal impact substitute as he likes to bowl in the death.

Pitch Report for GT vs KOL

The Ahmedabad pitch has been helpful for batters, with the pitch not changing much over the course of 40 overs.

Pacers may get help early on, but it’s helpful for batters from there on.

Chasing has worked on the pitch, as the last three matches at the Stadium saw the team batting second win.

Predicted Playing XI:

GT: Hardik Pandya (C), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph

KKR: Nitish Rana (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy

Who will win

Gujarat Titans are the defending champions and have been in good form in the tournament so far.

With a strong batting and bowling lineup, they have all the tools to beat Kolkata Knight Riders, who are yet to find their footing in the tournament.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have shown some glimpses of brilliance in their last game, with the likes of Rinku Singh and Varun Chakravarthy performing well.

However, their batting order is yet to fire, and they have to find a way to score runs consistently if they want to beat Gujarat Titans.

Considering all these factors, Gujarat Titans are likely to win the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and continue their winning streak in the IPL 2023 season.